Ireland: Tobacco stocks on fire despite smoking bans

Against the odds, cigarette-makers are experiencing phenomenal gains in the world market, says Joe Brennan

TOBACCO firms have seen their sales slide since the smoking ban was introduced here 18 months ago. Total tobacco sales fell 13% last year, according to data released recently by the Central Statistics Office.

At the same time, the British market has been declining at about 1-2% a year and the rest of Europe is looking less than healthy. Countries such as Sweden, Italy, Malta and Norway, have since banned smoking in public places with similar effects.

While cigarettes have fallen from favour in Europe, the companies that sell them have not.

Tobacco firms have staged something of a comeback on the world’s stock markets over the past two years, following a period when they were off many fund managers’ radar screens.

The share price of British American Tobacco (BAT), which owns PJ Carroll and also has Dunhill and Lucky Strike in its stable of brands, has surged 83% over